Direct Instruction (learn about)

Type What is it When is it best used Avoid it when

Structured  Conceptual mapping of big ideas in oral,  Start or end of the unit, new concept  Substitution for deep
overview written, or visual form.  To give enough information for educated learning
 Always includes outcomes and indicators in choice  In the middle of the
student friendly language  On the wall to remind students of the big learning
ideas or targets

Lecture/  Verbal (and sometimes visual) sharing of  Information must be shared rapidly but is  Substitution for deep
Storytelling/ information from one person to another. not expected to be retained over time learning
Video  Always includes vivid description and (introduction or nuance)  Information is critical or
purposeful organization to aide retention,  Intellectual or emotional connections must must be used
checked by formative assessment be made before deep inquiry  Students are tired or
distracted (ideally keep
under 7 mins. without
interruption)
Explicit  Formula for transfer of skills or information  when skills and content must be applied  Reviewing
Teaching that provides for both recall and application together and/or the learning is conceptually  Summary is enough
complex  Learning is not formulaic,
Sequence of supports checked by formative  in areas of common error or misconception or is interactive
assessment:  in areas that need support for
metacognition
 setting a purpose for learning
 telling students what to do
 showing them how to do it
 doing it with them
 they try it in small group or with partners
 individual students try it
 Direct Instruction (learn about - continued)
Type What is it When is it best used Avoid it when
Purposeful  Individually or in small groups the learners  For things where quick recall and  Open ended tasks
Practice practice already taught content or skills that conceptual understanding is needed for  Interactive and higher
require decision making and conceptual correct responses level tasks in combination
depth  For things that need to be understood and  Informed judgement
 They get immediate feedback and correction applied repetitively
so they never practice mistakes
Drill and  Individually or in small groups the learners  For things that need to be recalled rapidly  Not for tasks that require
Practice practice already taught content or skills without thought or connection informed judgement or
 They get immediate feedback and correction (foundational) decision making (low level
so they never practice mistakes Blooms)

Didactic  Teacher uses whole class questions* to
Questions determine quality of recall and automaticity,
or to check for common errors
 Questions are low level (application at
highest) with correct and incorrect responses
Demonstration  Teacher shows a skill and describes verbally
the process being used (ie think aloud, talk
aloud, science demonstration)
 Explicit connections are made and common
errors or criteria are discussed
 To determine depth of student  Anything above the
understanding in foundational knowledge applied level on Blooms
before moving on  Transmission
 Making the thinking process of experts  Problem and solution or
explicit for others creative thinking
 Making the decision making process of  Indirect connections
students explicit for others
 Illustrating points of difficulty
 Very strong when paired with co-
construction of anchor charts or criteria
 Indirect Instruction(think deeply)
Type What is it When is it best used Avoid it when
Problem  Process where students understand a  Once students already have basic  The problem is contrived,
solving problem, determine what success would look knowledge or there are clear right
like, choose the best solution and take action  For real world problems solved by real and wrong
to implement the best solution employees (complex, requires judgement to  No action is required
 Can be reflective or creative pick “best” from a variety of good solutions)  Problem is too hard or
 Requires a good question  When students can actually take action easy for students
 A form of inquiry knowledge and skills
Case Study  In between direct instruction and problem  Once students already have basic  When students are just
solving, case studies are student-researched knowledge learning about something
projects to deeply understand how a concept  When studies connect basic knowledge in (like frogs)
is applied in a specific case more than one area  If research and basic
 Often a form of inquiry, but does not require  To help students empathize or connect to content are not in place
a good question learning (relevance)  If learning is mostly
 Once research skills have been taught conceptual
Reading or  Student controlled acquisition of information  For students to find information and assess  Receptive skills are not
viewing for from a variety or types of text, rather than it or relate to it taught
meaning the teacher.  To help students empathize or connect to  Complex connections are
 Student sets a purpose, predicts, uses learning (relevance) the focus
receptive skills, and organizes information  To build basic knowledge and make  The learning is procedural
found to share or use connections or needs to be automatic
 Teacher explicitly teaching receptive skills
Reflection  A process of writing, thinking or talking to  At intervals through the learning when  Learning is rote
deepen learning or connect it to other experience need to become explicit  Student experience is not
learning understanding complete enough to
 The teacher poses a question or prompt and  As a part of a portfolio, journal, or critique generalize learning as
the student respond by connecting their  As peer, self or formative assessment reflection
learning to their own observations about it  To help students empathize or connect to  Students have not control
 Works best when done in comparison (to learning (relevance) of outcomes
criteria, the work of others, past work etc.)
 Indirect Instruction(think deeply - continued)
Type What is it When is it best used Avoid it when
Concept  A process where students come to understand a  When new concepts are introduced  When the concept cannot
formation concept because they discover it for themselves that students must make sense of for be observed based on
 Students are given a series of examples or data themselves because they will use them data
and group those into categories. They label the repeatedly in the future  When the learning is a skill
categories based on similarities or differences,  To help make connections explicit and or procedure
and make guesses about the big ideas or theories, connect to prior knowledge  When learning is rote and
which they discuss as a large class until everyone  To prepare for research, inquiry or designed to be forgotten
understands deep learning quickly
Concept  A process where students take a series of  To help students connect prior and  When the learning is a skill
mapping and concepts and create a visual of the relationships learned concepts or procedure
graphic between them  To help students retain learning long-  When learning is rote and
organizers  Students brainstorm (or are given) a series of term designed to be forgotten
ideas. They group them and create categories,  To make the relationship between quickly
then words that describe the relationships concepts explicit  Before the learning has
between the categories. Images, links and occurred, or only once in
different types of lines are used to provide depth the learning
and describe relationship.
 Concept maps are added to throughout the
learning
Concept  A process where students come to understand a  To help students become familiar with  After learning is
Attainment concept because they classify data or examples a concept completed
based on definitions of concepts  To highlight similarities and differences  When the learning is a skill
 The teacher provides definitions or descriptions of  To prepare for research, inquiry or or procedure
specific concepts, then gives students a variety of deep learning  When learning is best
data or examples and non-examples. Students done in context
classify the examples/data into the correct
categories, then restate the definition in their own
words
 Experiential Instruction (learn by doing)
Type What is it When is it best used Avoid it when
Field trip  Learning occurs outside the classroom  To help students observe for themselves  You want students to
 Experts teach students through observations and draw conclusions demonstrate what they
or “walk and talk”  To expose students to a variety of points of have learned or show
 Teacher acts as supervisor view in the community higher level thinking skills
 It is followed with time to reflect and apply  You want students to have
the learning a fun trip and there is no
learning agenda
Best place  Learning occurs outside the traditional  Students have a complex problem to  There is no clear thing
learning classroom when the learning is best because consider or solve (informed judgement) students will do to show
of the specific other location  Students have already gained basic you what they have
 The learning is the result of specific student knowledge on a topic and can at least learned
actions, rather than receptive like synthesize  You want students to
observation  To help students connect to the learn about something
 Students work with experts, or work on real community, the world or work or service to rather than act on learning
world task with a genuine audience others (rote not inquiry)
 Teacher is facilitator or co-learner
Role play  Students (and usually the teacher) pretend to  To help student empathize  You have not pre-taught
be characters in order to experience  To grow characterization, speaking and character skills or rules for
something or communicate with an audience creative thinking skills appropriate interaction
 Teacher explicitly teaches how to build a  To allow student the opportunity to be  You want students to
character and models how to sustain a something other than themselves and learn learn specific content
character accordingly rather than experience
ideas or emotions
 Experiential Instruction (learn by doing - continued)

Type What is it When is it best used Avoid it when

Simulation or  Students are given a context (often a  You want to teach a concept with more  You don’t have carefully
gaming historical or “what if” scenario) and asked to than one point of view scripted events that all
take specific perspectives or represent a  You want students to empathize (connect players can be equally
position, group, or person emotionally with an issue) and involved in
 The teacher plans a series of events that intellectualize (cognitively understand an  The class has not already
occur in the scenario or game, and the issue) learned terminology and
players respond  You want complex, nuanced understanding been introduced to the
 At the end, players reflect explicitly on what main concepts
they have learned and share those reflections
with classmates and the teacher
Guided  Students try to remove as many distractions  You wanted students to use free-form  Your class is easily
Imaging as possible to focus as much as they can (for association to think of new ideas or put distracted
example lying on mats with eyes closed in a unique ideas together  You want to impart ideas,
darkened room)  You want detailed, vivid description or need students to
 The teacher talks the students through a conceptualize
script, talking to allow student the
opportunity to creatively imagine details like
character, location, events etc.
 After the script is finished, student either
share about what they imagined with a group
or record it in a journal for later use in the
arts or writing
 Independent Instruction (make sense for yourself)

Type What is it When is it best used Avoid it when

Research  Given a question or set of questions, students 
use a variety of types of text (video, online,
print, interview) to determine required
information
Journal, Log,  Students record reflections, observations and
Portfolio or questions to support their own learning
Blog  Students also learn through the comments
and suggestions of those who read/view their
work
Learning  A series of stations where students go to
Center learn specific skills (usually by doing)
 Student control pace and quality of the
experience
 Teacher prepares center so that a variety of
types of uses all lead to the desired
experience
When students need to acquire new
information, but it does not to be very
specific information
 When you want student to connect what
they are learning to prior knowledge
through powerful questions
 As a part of an extended process where
reflection or observation makes the
learning more specific or deeper
 As part of an extended conversation with
the teacher/peers/others
 Students are playing to learn
 Students are at a wide variety of skill levels
and you want to provide the opportunity to
learn by doing
 Learning is procedural in nature
 You are have students
research “about” rather
than answer a question
 Students don’t have a
major theme for their
reflection and observation
 The act reflecting or
observing is graded, rather
than the demonstration of
growth
 Practicing the wrong thing
would be a big problem
 Students are struggling
conceptually
 Interactive Instruction (Learn by doing with others)

Type What is it When is it best used Avoid it when

Debate  After research, students verbally discuss the  When dealing with controversial issues  You have not taught how
merits of two opposing positions on a topic  To encourage critical thinking and research to make a good argument
 Some material is prepared in advance, and skills  Students have not pre-
other arguments are used to counter the  To grow public speaking and the ability to learned the main issues in
arguments of the other side “think on your feet” the topic
 Different students play different roles  To reinforce paragraphing and essay skills in
(speaker roles, discussion, judge) organizing and explaining a point
Brainstorming  Students collectively say everything they  To introduce new concepts  Students are telling facts
know, wonder about or imagine about a topic  To help all members of the group learn the rather than generating
 The recorder records all ideas (even if some prior knowledge only some members have ideas
are rejected by the group)  To explicitly communicate how concepts  Conceptual understanding
 Ideas are sorted into like groups and some are connected needs depth and
are rejected experience
Partnering  In a variety of types of learning, students  When grouping in low-middle, or middle-  You need to know exactly
work with others to make sense of what they high (conceptually) what each student knows
are hearing  When a new concept is being introduced (evaluation)
 There is a specific structure to promote the  To increase comprehension and security  You have yet to establish
learning like think-pair-share, jigsaw, 3 before  To grow social skills an environment for on-
me etc. task partner work
 Partners report what they have learned
collectively
Discussion  Students share ideas orally in response to  Teacher ensures good distribution of  Specific content is
questions participation required
 Teacher probes for additional clarity  Not all participation is voluntary  High level critical or
 Summary to key points is provided  Concepts are being fleshed out through creative thinking is
details or examples requires
Key questions:

1. What type of instruction is this?

2. What type of learning does the teacher want?
3. Is this instruction well-suited to the type of learning? Why?
4. Is there any other instruction you could add to make the learning more powerful?